“This is mainly because the coating itself is much cheaper and more flexible. “Most of our sales are in the US with retrofits to existing sheet-fed presses most commonly from Komori, Heidelberg, KBA, and RMGT. Our in-house design teams are continually looking to innovate and improve on the design of all our products. Our USP is that our systems are designed and manufactured here in the UK, using only the best quality components and making our systems almost ‘fit and forget’.” Consider your options Meanwhile, another advocate of investing in high-quality drying kit is Phoseon Technology. Marketing communications manager Stacy Hodge says PSPs interested in utilising UV drying machinery should compare the differences in performance of the various UV-based systems and take a closer look at the capabilities and reputation of the machinery supplier. “Printers and converters interested in purchasing a UV drying solution have the option to select either LED-based drying systems or traditional mercury-vapor UV lamps,” Hodge explains. “LED drying systems have gained worldwide adoption and continue to replace traditional mercury bulbs because of all the advantages. UV LED brings cost savings due to increased productivity, higher uptime, no bulb replacements, and extremely long product lifetime. If engineered correctly, LED technology ensures reliability with consistency, process stability, and improved print quality. “Traditional mercury arc lamps bring longterm recurring costs with bulb replacements and other spare parts, along with significant downtime and maintenance required. Mercury-vapor UV lamps generate a tremendous amount of heat that requires a significant amount of electricity to operate.” With this, Hodge advises PSPs to ask their suppliers a series of key questions to understand the investment they are going to make. What cooling method is required? What emitting window is needed? Does their system meet the irradiance and energy density requirements to guarantee a full cure? What is the expected lifetime of the product? Are product demos available so you can test it with my materials? What product features are available to enhance performance? Do they have case studies with applications similar to yours? What type of worldwide sales and technical support does the company offer? Hodge says Phoseon is able to answer all these questions and more, as well as provide customers with effective solutions. Phoseon products use 365nm, 385nm, 395nm, and 405nm wavelengths and offer product families with both air-cooled and water-cooled UV curing systems. First, FireJet ONE air-cooled UV LED systems are aimed primarily at the inkjet, flexographic, and screen printing markets where high power, in a compact form factor, is a key requirement. The FireJet ONE lamps, in emitting window widths from 75 to 375mm, scale simply by placing units next to one another, daisy-chaining them together. Phoseon’s unique optics ensure consistent uniformity at the substrate surface. Elsewhere, Nexus ONE UV LED products are designed for flexographic printing applications. Nexus ONE premium UV LED curing lamps deliver maximum power and dose of UV energy for the flexographic markets. 67 www.printmonthly.co.uk Issue 341 - March / April 2023 UV LED drying brings cost savings due to increased productivity, higher uptime, no bulb replacements, and long product lifetime Factoid “By enabling quality applications at faster press speeds, the Nexus ONE is truly the all-in-one UV LED curing product for flexographic printing,” Hodge says, adding: “Nexus ONE UV LED curing solutions offer many benefits to printers and converters including a five-year warranty.” Also from Phoseon, FireEdge FE410 UV LED products come with advanced features that Hodge says delivers up to 50% higher irradiance, power, and dose than the original FireEdge FE400. “This will help customers who need increased process speed for improved throughput but still prefer the small form factor,” Hodge says, adding: “With built-in intensity control options, the FireEdge FE410 can be used for both full cure and pinning applications such as inkjet pinning, 3D print, and adhesives curing. Hodge also highlights Phoseon’s patented TargetCure Technology for LED curing that delivers the specific target irradiance ensuring each job is consistent and reliable. Hodge says this precise curing ability remains stable across ambient operating temperatures and continually monitors the lamp’s efficiency to adjust the output over the lamp’s lifetime. In addition, Phoseon developed WhisperCure Technology to provide a quieter solution with high UV output and small form factor. WhisperCure Technology uses proprietary and patented Phoseon innovations to provide a unique, compelling solution. It is clear from speaking to manufacturers and suppliers that investment in quality drying technology is of paramount importance. Underinvestment could lead to a host of issues that could cost you money, repeat business, and new customers in the long run. ▼ Phoseon’s FireJet ONE air-cooled UV LED systems are aimed primarily for the inkjet, flexographic, and screen printing markets NEED TO KNOW / DRYING TECHNOLOGY ▲ Benford UV says since it moved into the narrow web and label market four years ago, its LED UV systems have been proving popular in the UK
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